Apparatus for lining the walls of metallurgical vessels with prepared refractory material

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for lining a metallurgical vessel (ladle) having a continuous arcuate rim by delivering wads of prepared refractory material having high kinetic energy into the arcuate space existing between the side wall of the vessel and a conformably shaped pattern in centered relation within the vessel. A turntable which rotates about the common axis of the vessel and the pattern carries an eccentrically disposed, radially shiftable, rotary, motor-driven slinger which is constrained to follow the contour of the rim during rotation of the turntable and, thus, maintain its discharge chute in register with the aforesaid arcuate space. A conveyor system receives the lining material from a nearby feeder and delivers a continuous flow thereof to the slinger. The pattern is expansible and contractible to facilitate its removal from the newly-lined vessel.

United States Patent 1 Bisinella 'et at.

[ Dec. 18, 1973 1 APPARATUS FOR LINING WALLS OF METALLURGICAL VESSELS WIT-H PREPARED REFRACTORY MATERIAL [75] Inventors: Angelo .1. Bisinella, Nilesr Roy F.

Nosek,.Berwyn, both of 111.

[73] Assignee: Pettibone Corporation, Chicago, Ill. 22 Filed: Aug. 3, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 168,689

[52] U.S. Cl 425/110, 425/60, 266/43 [51] Int. Cl B28b 19/00 [58] Field of Search 266/43; 425/60, 90,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,579,755 5/1971 Blankenhorn 425/110 2,979,798 4/1961 Price 425/110 X 3,137,908 6/1964 Winn 425/60 X 3,151,200 9/1964 Spencer.. 266/43 3,672,649 6/1972 Allen 3,540,713 11/1970 Montgomery 266/43 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR'APPLICATlONS 5/1962 Germany 266/43 Primary Examiner-J. Spencer Overholser Assistant Examiner-B. D. Tobor Attorney-Norman H. Gerlach 5 7 ABSTRACT Apparatus for lining a metallurgical vessel (ladle) having a continuous arcuate rim by delivering wads of prepared refractory material having high kinetic energy into the arcuate space existing between the side wall of the vessel and a conformably shaped pattern in centered relation within the vessel. A turntable which rotates about the common axis of the vessel and the pattern carries an eccentrically disposed, radially shiftable, rotary, motondriven slinger which is constrained to follow the contour of the rim during rotation of the turntable and, thus, maintain its discharge chute in register with the aforesaid arcuate space. A conveyor system receives the lining material from a nearby feeder and delivers a continuous flow thereof to the slinger. The pattern is expansible and contractible to facilitate its removal from the newly-lined vessel.

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w wt APPARATUS FOR LINING THE WALLS OF METALLURGICAL VESSELS WITH PREPARED REFRACTORY MATERIAL The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for lining the side walls of metallurgical vessels such as steel mill pouring ladles and the like. More specifically, the invention is concerned with a fully automatic apparatus which is designed particularly for use in connection with the application of a homogenous monolithic lining which is comprised of prepared refractory material to the inner side wall surface of a relatively large generally cylindrical pouring ladle having a diameter of from 12 to 15 feet or more in the rim region thereof and having a depth up to 18 or more feet. Such a ladle has a pouring capacity in excess of 250 tons where the larger size ladles are concerned, the ladle itself weighing up to forty tons, and the refractory material of the liner which is installedtherein weighing up to 26 tons.

Still more specifically, the invention is related to a ladle lining apparatus of the type that employs a rotary, motor-driven slinger for the purpose of filling the continuous arcuate space which exists between the side wall of the ladle and the outside surface or side wall of a pattern which initially is centered within the ladle, the slinger delivering small wads of prepared refractory material into the aforesaid space through the rim of the ladle so as progressively to build up the refractory liner, the pattern being lifted from the ladle after the liner is fully formed so as to leave the liner in position against the inner surface oflthe side wall of the ladle.

This type of apparatus represents a fairly recent innovation in the art of lining ladles, prior ladle lining apparatuses and methods being predicated upon the placement of preformed pieces of solid refractory material (usually firebrick) in position by hand and requiring the use of skilled masonry workers to perform the operation. The progressive building up of a lining within the arcuate space between the side wall of the ladle and the side wall of a pattern within the ladle as previously described by the use of a rotary, power-driven slinger which projects wads of thevprepared refractory material into the space is currently being practiced by using either of two systems.

In one system, the pattern-equipped ladle is supported on a rotary turntable and the slinger is fixedly mounted in a position above the table so that its discharge chute registers with the arcuate space which is established between the ladle and the pattern. Such a system is not well adapted to accommodate or be practically used in connection with ladles having a holding capacity of only about one hundred tons and, therefore, the present invention which, as previously indicated, is designed for lining considerably larger ladles, is not particularly concerned with a rotary ladle lining system, although certain of the features thereof may possibly find application thereto.

In the other system, the pattern-equipped ladle remains stationary while the slinger is caused to revolve about the common axis of the ladle and the pattern and, during such movement of the slinger, its discharge chute is maintained in register with the arcuate space between the ladle side wall and the outer surface of the side wall of the pattern. It is to this latter type of ladle lining system that the present invention specifically relates. However, with either system, the arcuate space becomes progressively built up by the rapid fire compacting of the prepared refractory material within said space, the wads of material initially being compacted with great force against the bottom portion of the space until it is covered, after which wads are compacted against previously compacted (rammed) lining material with the process being carried out throughout the entire ladle lining operation and until the ladle has been fully lined.

Although ladle lining apparatuses which are predicated upon the use of this latter system are currently well developed, the system itself it not without its limitations, and principal among these is the inability of the particular ladle lining apparatus to perform the ramming operation continuously since it is necessary to resort to ramming in no less than three stages, the first stage being performed with the presence of a relatively short pattern within the bottom portion of the ladle, each successive stage being performed after an additional pattern section has been placed upon an underlying pattern section. The reason for this is that with the semi-automatic ladle lining apparatus currently in use, it has not been possible in actual practice to aim the discharge chute of the rotary, motor-driven slinger into the arcuate space between the ladle side wall and the centered pattern within the ladle and maintain it properly aimed during revolution of the slinger about the common ladle and pattern axis with sufficient accuracy that the wads of refractory lining material can be directed downwardly throughout the full depth (up to 18 feet or more) of the arcuate space so that the high impact resulting from their high kinetic energy can be effective against the bottom of the aforesaid space instead of this energy being dissipated prematurely by contact of the wads with the side wall of either the ladle or the pattern. Since in steel mills which produce refined steels, the cost of ladle lining is an important cost factor, this shut-down time which is consumed during the effecting of pattern additions represents an appreciable idle time loss.

The present invention overcomes the above-noted limitation in that novel means are provided for accurately guiding the discharge chute of the rotary, powerdriven slinger during its revolution about the axis of the ladle so that it is at all times in register with the linerforming arcuate space and properly aimed with respect thereto regardless. of whether this space is circular, elliptical or otherwise out-of-round, and regardless of the mean slant angle of the space in the case of ladles which are of frusto-conical or elliptical design. The provision of this means for accurately guiding and aiming the discharge chute of the slinger constitutes one of the principal objects of the present invention, and in carrying out this object, the invention contemplates that the discharge chute shall lie just outside of the rim of the pattern shell and be aimed so that it discharges its wads in precise parallelism with the pattern side wall, i.e., at the same angle as that of the side wall of the pattern. It is further contemplated that the width of the arcuate space shall be wider than the width of the wads which are discharged from the discharge chute of the slinger so that, regardless of fairly large departures in the uniformity of the ladle side wall, as, for example, where the ladle is formed with a pouring lip, projection of the wads in an unhampered manner against the bottom of the progressively diminishing annulus is at all times insured. Furthermore, by such an arrangement,

a given pattern is capable of serving ladles which vary in diameter within certain limits.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a novel mounting means for the rotary, motor-driven slinger, such means embodying a ramming unit which includes the slinger and rotates bodily about the common axis of the ladle and the pattern with the slinger being eccentrically mounted on the unit and freely slidable thereon radially under the control of the aforementioned guiding means for the discharge chute so that, in the case of a pattern having an elliptical rim, as the chute traverses a major axis of the ellipse, the slinger will assume a position of greater eccentricity than when the chute traverses a minor axis of the ellipse. Additional novel means are provided whereby the inclination of the discharge chute may be varied at will to attain the aforementioned condition of parllelism of wad discharge with the side wall of the pattern during ramming of the annulus.

Still another feature of the present invention, in one form thereof, resides in the provision of a novel means for conducting the prepared refractory lining material from a remote point where it is discharged from a feeder to the revolving hopper of the slinger in the vicinity of the ladle and pattern installation or assembly, such means embodying a composite, articulated, twopart conveyor having a receiving hopper permanently in receiving register with the fixed discharge chute of the feeder and having its discharge end permanently in discharging register with the circumferentially travelling receiving hopper of the revolving slinger, the medial region of such articulated conveyor being in the form of an elbow joint which flexes during the closed path movement of the rotary motor-driven slinger. By such an arrangement, a continuous flow of the prepared refractory material to the slinger is at all times assured.

A further serious limitation which is attendant upon the construction and use of conventional rotary, motordriven slingers for the filling of the relative deep arcuate ladle-to-pattern spaces which are encountered in the lining of large ladles resides in the inability of such slingers to develop sufficient sand#compacting reaction force to create lining material wads of such adequate density as to create the necessary impact force to produce a homogenous and dense ladle lining that will not crumble or crack during pattern removal operations or when, after the usual drying operation has been performed, it comes into contact with molten metal. Heretofore, with conventional ladle lining apparatus employing a rotory, motor-driven slinger having a discharge chute which follows the elliptical or other path of the arcuate space undergoing ramming, the slinger which is used is generally a conventional Sandslinger" of the well-known type wherein an impeller-mounted slinger cup, upon rotation thereof about a horizontal axis, picks up successively a measured quantity of conditioned sand, employs the impact force thereof to shape the sand into the form of a wad, and flings the wad by centrifugal force through a discharge outlet in the impeller casing and into the discharge chute of the slinger. Such a slinger invariably engages the measured quantity of sand at a 12 o'clock position as it is falling freely from the associated sand conveyor and discharges it at a 9 oclock position, the impeller rotating in a counterclockwise direction. The initial impact between the cup and the freely falling measured quantity of sand, together with the small amplitude of movement of the filled cup before it discharges its contents in the 9 o'clock position, does not yield an adequate impact force properly to compact the sand into a sufficiently dense mass for proper ramming and there is some loose sand discharged along with each wad. The present invention overcomes this lack of wad density by providing a novel form of rotary, motor-driven slinger which is particularly well adapted for ladle lining use in that adequate refractory lining material is delivered continuously to the impeller casing in the bottom region thereof of that the impeller cup effectively engages the material at the 6 oclock position, then plows into such mass of material, so to speak, then picks up its full capacity of the lining material with impact force, and finally forces it around through the 12 oclock position and discharges it at the 9 oclock position. During this 270 sweep of the cup around the impeller casing, the refractory material has time to assimilate itself into the wad as the cup pushes it forwardly so that at the time it is flung from the casing at the 9 0- clock position an extremely dense and full wad is created which is better suited to meet the requirements of ramming procedures than are the wads of material which are delivered by conventional sandslingers when put to such use.

The efficiency of the present ladle lining apparatus over conventional or previously designed apparatus for the same purpose is further enhanced by numerous other features of novelty not specifically elaborated upon at this time but which will be described in detail subsequently. Among these are a novel pattern for the ladle, having facilities for centering the same in the ladle at the time it is initially installed therein and, thereafter, levelling the same within the ladle in order to bring the axes of the pattern and ladle into coincidence; having facilities for shrinking or contracting the same after the refractory lining has been completed within the arcuate space surrounding the pattern so as to break the bond between the latter and the green lining material in order that the pattern may be hoisted from the lined ladle; and also having facilities for guiding the ramming unit or slinger as a whole into an axially centered and operative position above the rim of the ladle and thereafter supporting such assembly during ladle-lining operations. A further feature of novelty which is associated with the pattern per se resides in the provision of means for confining the prepared refractory material which is rammed into the arcuate ladleto-pattern space and preventing the same from flowing inwardly over the bottom wall of the ladle.

in general, the principal object of the invention is to provide a ladle-lining apparatus which is generally of new and improved construction, effectively and efficiently performs its intended purpose, and embodies a novel and improved arrangement of parts.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by the claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the accompanying drawings, two embodiments of the invention are illustrated. in one embodiment, the rotatable ramming unit or slinger is center-fed, which is to say that the prepared refractory material is dis charged into a centrally-located hopper which is coaxial with the common axis of the ladle and pattern assembly and from which this material is conveyor-fed radially outwards and discharged into the receiving hopper of the eccentrically mounted orbiting slinger for wad-distribution into the arcuate space between the sidewalls of the ladle and the pattern. In the other embodiment, the ramming unit or slinger is peripherally fed, which is to say that the prepared refractory material is discharged directly into the receiving hopper of the orbiting slinger. However, in each of these embodiments of the invention, substantially all of the aboveoutlined advantages of the invention are prevalent and the structural components which make such advantages possible are preserved, substantially without modification. For example, in either embodiment of the invention, the pattern and its associated aligning and centering mechanism, the ramming unit and its associated rotary, motor-driven slinger, at least portions of the conveyor structure by means of which the refractory material is conducted to the orbiting sand slinger, and the sand treating or preparation components by means of which the raw batches of dry refractory material is conditioned and fed to the ramming unit or slinger in a continuous flow, remain substantially the same.

These two embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying twelve sheets of drawings which form a part of this specification.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view, somewhat schematic in its representation, showing a steel mill installation which incorporates one embodiment of a ladle-lining apparatus embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the installation which is illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partly in section and on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the structure which is shown in FIG. 2, the view showing the details of a particular sand-receiving conveyor which is employed in connection with and forms part of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the structure which is shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partly in section and on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the structure which is shown in FIG. 2, the view illustrating the details of av terminal sand delivery conveyor which is employed in connection with the invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the structure which is shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 10-10 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 1 I is a top plan view of a complete ramming unit or rotary, motor-driven slinger and its associated drive mechanism, this view being taken on an enlarged scale and in the direction of the arrows which are associated with the line 11-11 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the structure which is shown in FIG. 11;

. FIG. 12a is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 12a-12a of FIG. 12;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal sectional view of the various parts which are illustrated in the right-hand portion of FIG. l1;

FIG. 14 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 14-14 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, of the mounting structure for the ramming unit or slinger or the ladle-lining apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the line 16-16 of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary top plan view looking downwardly into the pattern shell assembly which is employed in connection with the present invention;

FIG. 17a is an enlarged fragmentary detail top plan view of the gate structure which is shown in FIG. 17, the gate proper being shown in an open position;

FIG. 18 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 18-18 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 19-19 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 20-20 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 21 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of the structure which is shown in FIGS. 17 and 19, the view disclosing the details of one of a number of spreader jacks which are associated with the pattern shell assembly of the apparatus;

FIG. 22 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of the structure which is enclosed in the dotted line circle F22 of FIG. 19;

FIG. 23 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of the structure which is enclosed in the dotted line circle F23 of FIG. 19;

FIG. 24 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of the structure which is enclosed in the dotted line circle F24 of FIG. 19;

FIG. 25 is a reduced fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the line 25-25 of FIG. 20 and showing the details of a gate mechanism which is employed in connection with the invention, the gate proper being illustrated in its closed position;

FIG. 26 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 25 but showing the gate proper in its open position;

FIG. 27 is a reduced fragmentary horizontal sectional view similar to FIG. 25 but showing the details of another and counterpart gate mechanism which is employed in connection with the present invention, the gate proper being shown in its closed position;

FIG. 28 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 27 but showing the gate proper in its open position;

FIG. 29 is a horizontal view taken through the bottom portion of FIG. 19 and illustrating the nature of the pattern shell centering mechanism which is employed in connection with the invention;

FIG. 30 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 30-30 of FIG. 29;

FIG. 31 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 31-31 of FIG. 29;

FIG. 32 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 32-32 of FIG. 29;

the form of a pouring ladle for molten steel is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10, a ladle being operatively positioned in a ladle pit 12 where the ladle-lining procedure takes place. The upper portion of the ladle is provided with the usual outwardly extending, diametrically opposite supporting trunnions 14 by means of which it is supported when, after lining, it is used in connection with an overhead hoist for actual metal pouring operations. The trunnions 14 are secured in thickened bosses 15. As shown in FIG. 2, the ladle 10 comprises a circular bottom wall 16 and a continuous side wall 18 which terminates in an open or exposed upper rim 20. The latter in the illustrated form of ladle, is generally oval or elliptical but may under certain circumstances be truly circular. If desired, the side wall may be provided with the usual thin safety liner, but such a liner is not shown in the drawings in the interest of clarity. The bosses are formed as integral parts of the upper portion of the side wall 18. The ladle-lining apparatus of the present invention is capable of use, without any modification whatsoever, for lining metallurgical vessels regardless of whether the same present either circular or elliptical rims. The ladle pit 12 exists by reason of a concrete pitforming shell 22 which is shown as being positioned in a conformably-shaped opening 24 in the floor or foundation surface 26 of the steel mill. Spaced apart, horizontally extending, channel beams 28 extend along a pair of opposed sides of the pit-forming shell 22 and receive thereon the trunnion-supporting bosses 15 in ladle-supporting relationship.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the ladle 10 is shown in its ladle-lining environment, i.e., in associated relationship with the ladle-lining apparatus of the present invention and in its fully lined condition at the termination of the ladle-lining operation but prior to dismantlement and withdrawal of the liner pattern of the apparatus from the interior of the ladle. In these figures, the completely installed lining or liner is shown at 30, and it is in the nature of a homogenous monolithic mass which is formed of compacted wads of prepared refractory material and then cured by a firing operation as well known in the art. The liner 30 is generally of frusto-conical or elliptical configuration and is formed by progressively introducing wads of the lining material into the arcuate space 32 which exists between the inner face of the side wall 18 of the ladle l0 and the outer side face of the aforementioned liner pattern. The latter is designated by the reference numeral 31 and is removably disposed within the ladle 10 in centered relationship. As will be described in detail subsequently, the liner-forming pattern 34 is of a sectional composite nature and it includes a four-part split pattern wall or shell 36 of a generally frusto-conical or elliptical configuration which is conformable in shape to the frusto-conical or elliptical configuration of the ladle side wall 18 but which is of lesser radial extent so that when the pattern shell is centered within the ladle 10, the aforementioned arcuate space 32 is established. For convenience, such space will hereafter be referred to as an annulus."

In order to break the bond between the formed refractory liner 30 and the liner pattern 34 after the ladle 10 has been lined, th pattern shell 36 is capable of limited contraction. After such contraction of the pattern shell, the pattern 34 as a whole may be hoisted by an overhead hoist or crane (not shown) from its centered relationship within the ladle 10. This liner pattern constitutes one of the principal features of the present invention and it has associated therewith novel internal means for contracting its shell 36, as well as means whereby the liner pattern as a whole may be hoisted into position within the ladle 10 and removed therefrom. Such means have been omitted from FIGS. 1 and 2 in the interest of clarity but they appear elsewhere in the drawings.

Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the lining material which ultimately is delivered to the annulus 32 for ladle-lining purposes is in the form of a prepared refractory mix which is obtained in packaged form. This material is batch fed by a skip hoist 38 to a conventional mulling apparatus such as is illustrated schematically in FIGS. 1 and 2 and is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 40. The apparatus 40 forms no part of the present invention and, therefore, the details thereof have not been disclosed herein. Suffice it to say, such apparatus is of the top feed open rim type and includes a mulling bowl 42 within which there is a rotary, power-driven crosshead having mounted thereon a series of plows which serve to agitate, squeeze, and aerate the refractory mix while at the same time water in predetermined quantity is introduced into the bowl 42. The aforementioned refractory mix consists of granular material to which there has been added suitable conditioning substances, the mix as a whole, however, being a dry mix requiring only the addition of, and intimate mixing with, a predetermined percentage of water in order to attain an earth-like consistency which constitutes the required mixture and is suitable for introduction into the annulus 32 which exists be tween the pattern shell 36 and the side wall 18 of the ladle 10.

As will be described in detail subsequently, the refractory lining material which is introduced into the annulus 32 is delivered in the form of small wads which are flung from a slinger assembly 44 which constitutes the principal or effective functional component of a rotary ramming unit 45, the latter being adapted to be positioned in seated relationship on the liner pattern 34 after the latter has been properly installed in the ladle 10. Upon rotation of the ramming unit 45 bodily about the vertical axis of the pattern 34, the slinger travels or orbits in a generally circular or elliptical path and is provided with a discharge chute 46 which remains at all times in register with the annulus 32 and discharges the wads of refractory material thereinto. These wads are possessed of high kinetic energy so that they become compacted in the annulus which gradually becomes filled with the refractory material. After the annulus has become filled with the refractory material, the ramming unit 45 is hoisted from the liner pattern 34 and, thereafter, the shell 36 of the pattern is contracted radially in order to free the same from the formed liner 30. Thereafter, the liner pattern 34 is hoisted from the pitsupported ladle which, in turn, is hoisted from the pit 12 so that a fresh stand-by unlined ladle may be placed in the pit preparatory to a succeeding ladle-lining operation.

It is essential for proper filling of the annulus 32 that the slinger assembly 44 deliver its refractory linerforming material to the annulus at a uniform rate so that this material will build up uniformly during filling of the annulus, and thus, result in uniform density of the completed lining. Since the mulling apparatus 40 is of the batch type, it is necessary that the periodic batch discharge from the apparatus 40 be converted into a substantially steady flow of material to the slinger assembly 44. For this purpose, a bucket elevator 50 is positioned to. receive the periodic batch discharge from the mulling apparatus 40 and to elevate the same for introduction into a feeder 52 which discharges the material in a mixed condition continuously onto an articulated conveyor assembly 54, the latter leading from the feeder 52 to the slinger assembly 44 of the ramming unit 45. The conveyor assembly 54 is comprised of two independently power-driven conveyors including a material-receiving conveyor 56 and a material-delivery conveyor 58, the former receiving the refractory lining material from the feeder 52 and the latter delivering such material directlyto the orbiting slinger assembly 44 of the rotating ramming unit 45. The mulling apparatus 40 and its associated skip hoist 38 and the feeder 52 and its associated bucket elevator 50 possess no novelty since these items, in the main, are purchased items and function only to translate the batch feed of the lining material to the mulling apparatus 40 into a continuous flow of such material from the mulling apparatus to the receiving conveyor 56. For this reason,

the components 38, 40, 50 and 52 have been schematically illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the description thereof herein will be functional rather than structural.

The skiphoist 38 (see FIG. 2) embodies a vertically shiftable dump bucket 60 which is slidably mounted on a relatively tall framework62 and is adapted to be shifted vertically in opposite directions under the control of a reversible motor M1 at the upper end of the framework 62. In its lowered position, the dump bucket 60 assumes the upright position in which it is shown in full lines in FIG. 2, in such upright position the bucket being disposed adjacent to the floor or foundation surface 26 where its open rim is conveniently accessible forloading purposes. As the dump bucket progresses upwardly, it encounters a cam 64 adjacent to the upper portion of the framework 62. As the result of engagement with such cam, the bucket 60 is caused to tilt and empty its contents by gravity into the open upper end of the bowl 42 of the mulling apparatus 40.

The mulling apparatus 40 is fixedly mounted on the upper end of a concrete pedestal 66 and in the medial regions of the bowl thereof there is provided a discharge gate 68 which is adapted to be opened near the end of each mulling cycle so that as the apparatus continues to function, the moist lining material becomes discharged onto a horizontally disposed conveyor 70 by means of which it is conducted to the receiving hopper 72 of the bucket elevator 50. The conveyor 70 is of the belt type and includes driving and driven belt rollers 74 and 76, an endless belt 78, and an electric driving motor M2 which is operatively connected to the driving roller 74 by a belt and pulley arrangement 80.

The discharge end of the conveyor 70 overlies the aforementioned receiving hopper 72 which is associated with the bucket elevator 50 and the latter involves in its general organization the usual endless chain and bucket structure 82 which serves to conduct the lining material from the hopper 72 to the upper end of a surrounding, upstanding, rectangular, hollow casing 84 and deposit the same in a discharge chute 86. The latter empties into a receiving hopper 88 which is associated with the feeder 52. The chain and bucket structure 82 is adapted to be driven under the control of an electric motor M3.

The feeder 52 is supported on an elevated platform 90 which is mounted on the bucket elevator casing 84 and includes a centrally fed, horizontally disposed, rotatable, material-receiving disk 91. The latter discharges the lining material which is received thereon in peripheral fashion and under the influence of one or more fixed scraper plates 92 which extend in secant fashion over the surface of the rotating disk 91. The peripherally-discharged lining material falls by gravity into a receiving hopper 94 which is associated with the aforementioned material-receiving conveyor 56.

Referring now additionally to FIGS. 3 and 4, the material-receiving conveyor 56 which constitutes a section of the articulated conveyor assembly 54 is, in the main, supported on a concrete pedestal on the steel mill floor 26 and it includes a hollow, cast metal, tubular base 102 which is suitably anchored on the upper end of the pedestal 100 and has mounted on its upper end by means of bolts 104 (see FIG. 3) the inner tubular member 106 of a hinge assembly 108. The outer tubular member 110 of the hinge assembly 108 is freely and rotatably supported on the inner tubular member 106 by upper and lower roller bearings 112 and 114.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 7, the hinge assembly 108 constitutes a turret structure from which there projects radially outwards an elongated tubular conveyor beam 116, the latter having its inner or proximate end telescopically received and anchored in a tubular sleeve 118 which is formed integrally with and projects radially outwards from the outer tubular member 110 of the hinge assembly 108. A flat, plate-like stiffner web 120 extends lengthwise of the beam 116, is welded as indicated at 122 to said beam, projects vertically upwards, and has its proximate end fixedly secured to the outer tubular member 110 by means of a brace casting 124. The latter is secured by bolts 125 (see FIG. 7) to a boss 126 (see FIG. 3) which forms an external part of the outer tubular member 110 of the hinge assembly 108. The brace casting 124 is formed with an outwardly projecting web 127 having formed therein a slot 128 into which the proximate end of the stiffner web 120 extends and in which it is welded as indicated at 130.

The outer tubular member 110 of the hinge assembly 110 is provided at its upper end with a cap member 131 (see FIGS. 3 and 7) and it has an offset portion 132 to which a gearbox 133 is secured by bolts 134. An electric motor M4 is secured by bolts 136 to the gearbox 133 in driving relationship. The gearbox embodies internal gearing 137 (see FIG. 9) and is provided with a horizontal tubular output shaft 138 on which there is fixedly mounted a drive pulley 140 for an endless conveyor belt 142. A driven pulley 144 (see FIG. 3) for the belt 142 is carried at the distal end of an upper conveyor frame 146, the distal end of the latter being adjustably supported from the distal end region of the conveyor beam 1 16 in a manner that will be made clear presently.

The conveyor frame 146 forms part of the receiving conveyor 56 and is comprised of two parallel side bars 150 (see FIGS. 3, 4 and 7) which are formed from tube stock, the inner or proximate ends of these side bars being secured by a unitary U-shaped hinge bracket 151 (see also FIG. 9) to a fixed, horizontally extending supporting shaft 152 which has one end thereof projecting through the gearbox 133 and connected fixedly thereto. The shaft 152 extends through and serves rotatably to support the aforementioned tubular output shaft 138. The hinge bracket 151 includes a pair of parallel side arms 153 (see FIG. 4) and an interconnecting bight portion 154, the outer ends of the side arms being pivotally attached to the fixedly mounted supporting shaft 152 by saddle connections 155 (see also FIG. 4). The bight portion 154 of the hinge bracket 151 is formed with a pair of upright saddles 156 (see FIGS. 3, 4 and 7) and the proximate ends of the side bars of the conveyor frame 146 are maintained firmly or rigidly seated in the saddles 156 by U-clamp assemblies 157. A connection 159 (see FIG. 7) leads to the interior of the rotatable output shaft 138 and serves to supply oil thereto for lubricating purposes.

The two parallel side bars 150 of the conveyor frame 146 are maintained in their spaced apart relationship by a series of three transversely extending struts 158 (see FIG. 3) having at the ends thereof downwardly extending flanges 160 which are secured by bolts 162 to the bars 150. These struts 158 serve to support therebetween a longitudinally extending dust shield 164 for the lower return reach of the endless conveyor belt 142 of the receiving conveyor 56. Angular stiffner bars 166 (see FIGS. 3, 4 and 8) overlie and are welded to the two side bars 150 of the conveyor frame 146 and are coextensive with a major portion of these side bars. The distal or outer end regions of the two side bars 150 are supported from the underlying conveyor beam 116 by means of a pair of upwardly extending and outwardly diverging supports 168 (see FIGS. 3 and which have their upper ends secured to the bars 150 by means of U-clamp assemblies 170 and their lower ends secured to a split clamping block 172, the latter being adjustably clamped on the beam 116 by clamping bolts for longitudinal adjustment therealong. The effective height of the two upwardly extending and diverging supports 168 is somewhat greater than the effective distance between the proximate ends of the conveyor beam 116 and the conveyor frame 146 in order that in any adjusted position of the supports 168, said conveyor frame is possessed of slight inclination in a direction leading away from the conveyor-supporting gearbox 133. By shifting the positions of the supports 168 longitudinally in one direction or the other, the effective inclination of the upper conveyor frame 146 of the receiving conveyor assembly 58 may be varied within small limits.

Each of the three transverse struts 158 (see FIGS. 7 and 10) in addition to the strengthening function which it performs with respect to the conveyor frame 146 as a whole also constitutes a reaction support for the upper reach of the endless conveyor belt 142. Accordingly; each strut 158 serves as a support for a flat, longitudinally extending belt-supporting plate 174. The latter has depending adjustment studs 176 which threadedly receive thereon pairs of clamping nuts 178 by means of which the height of the plate 174 may be varied and the plate levelled when required. Longitudinally extending angle bars 180 are suitably secured to the side margins of the belt-supporting plate 174 and support the longitudinal edges of the endless conveyor belt 142. These angle bars also serve to contain the refractory lining material on the upper reach of the conveyor belt 142 and, accordingly, they extend substantially the full length of the conveyor frame 146 of which they constitute a part. These angle bars constitute, in effect, guide rails for slidingly supporting the aforementioned receiving hopper 94, the latter being provided at its side portions with saddle-like guide shoes 182, each of which straddles the vertical leg of one of the angle bars 180 in sliding relationship. Upwardly extending and inclined coil springs 184 (see FIGS. 3 and 7) have their upper ends fixedly secured to the side portions of the hopper and their lower ends secured to horizontally and outwardly extending attachment ears 186 on the side portions of the belt-supporting plate 174. The normal tendency is for the springs 184 yieldingly to urge the hopper 94 forwardly in the direction of travel of the upper reach of the endless conveyor belt 142 of the receiving conveyor assembly 56, the forward movement of the hopper being determined by a pair of stop lugs 188 (see FIG. 3) which are fixedly connected to the angle bars and are adapted to be engaged by the outer or distal ends of guide shoes 182.

At the distal end of the conveyor frame 146, there is provided a conveyor belt-tightening mechanism 190 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) in the form of a pair of externally threaded extension rods 192 each of which is telescopically slidable within the distal end of one of the tubular side bars 150 and threadedly receives thereon a spanner nut 194, the latter bears against the adjacent circular end of the associated side bar. The outer ends of the extension rods 192 are in the form of circular eyes or bearings and serve to support therebetween a horizontal shaft 196 on which the aforementioned driven pulley 144 is rotatably mounted. A U-shaped belt scraper 198 has its end portions connected to the circular eyes or bearings on the outer ends of the extension rods 192 and serves further to insure proper delivery of lining material to the delivery conveyor 58.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the receiving conveyor 56 of the articulated conveyor assembly 54 delivers its refractory lining material into a receiving hopper 294 which is associated with and forms a part of the delivery conveyor 58. This latter conveyor is similar in many respects to the receiving conveyor 56 and, therefore, in order to avoid needless repetition of description, similar reference numerals, but of a higher order, have been applied to those parts of the delivery conveyor 58 which correspond to similar parts of the receiving conveyor 56 as, for example, between the disclosure of FIGS. 5 and 6 on the one hand and FIGS. 3 and 4 on the other.

Whereas the receiving conveyor 56 has its supporting frame 146 effectively supported by way of the conveyor beam 122, the delivery conveyor 58 has its supporting frame 346 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) effectively supported by upwardly and outwardly inclined brace bars 368 which correspond in function to the upwardly and outwardly diverging supports 168 for the conveyor frame 146 of the receiving conveyor 56. These brace bars 368 have their inner or lower ends secured as indicated at 369 to a bracket 371 which is connected to and forms a part of a cap member 331. The latter constitutes an element of a hinge assembly 308 which corresponds in function to the hinge assembly 108. Whereas the corresponding hinge assembly 108 of the receiving conveyor 56 is mounted on the pedestalsupported casting 102, the hinge assembly 308 of the delivery conveyor 58 is mounted on the extremity of the distal end of the conveyor beam 116 (see FIGS. 3

and by means of a split clamp arrangement 373. The cap member 331 of the hinge assembly 308 is provided with an offset portion 332 which is similar to the offset portion 132 of the cap member 131 of the hinge assembly 108, and the receiving end of the delivery conveyor 58 is supported on said offset portion 332 of the cap member 331 and includes a gearbox 333, an electric motor MS, a drive pulley 340, a hinge bracket 351, a hopper 294, and substantially all of the structural parts which are associated with the receiving end of the receiving conveyor 56 and have been previously described in detail.

Since the discharge end of the delivery conveyor 58 is obliged to follow the orbiting path of movement of the slinger assembly 44 about the axis sx (see FIG. 12) in order constantly to deliver the refractory lining material thereto, a receiving hopper 500 which is associated with and forms a part of the slinger assembly 44 is drivingly connected to the discharge end of the delivery conveyor 58 in a manner that will be described presently. Except for the provision of such a driving connection between the hopper 500 and the discharge end of the delivery conveyor, the remainder of said delivery conveyor 58 is, as previously pointed out, substantially the same as has been described in connection with the receiving conveyor 56.

The aforementioned driving connection between the hopper 500 and the discharge end of the delivery conveyor 58 is best shown in FIGS. 5, 13 and 14 of the drawings and is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 381. This connection also serves as a height-adjusting means for the distal or discharge end of the delivery conveyor 58. This height-adjusting and driving connection 381 includes a vertically extending elevation screw 383 having a crank arm 385 at its upper end for screw-turning purposes. The screw 383 is threaded through an internally threaded collar 387 which is carried by the bight portion of a substantially horizontal U-shaped conveyor frame extension 389. The free ends of the leg portions of the U-shaped frame extension 389 are fixedly connected in any suitable manner to the distal ends of the tubular side bars 350 of the supporting frame 346 of the delivery conveyor 58. A pair of lock nuts 391 straddles the collar 387 and is provided for the purpose of locking the collar 387 in any selected position of adjustment with respect to the elevation screw 383. A torque arm 393 is secured to and extends radially from one of the lock nuts 391 and serves, when manually turned in one direction, to facilitate loosening and tightening on the two lock nuts. After loosening of the two lock nuts, turning of the ele vation screw 383 in one direction or the other serves either upwardly or downwardly to adjust the discharge end of the delivery conveyor 58 with respect to the hopper 500. The lower end of the elevation screw 383 seats in a reaction cup 395 which is carried by the central portion of a horizontally extending strut 397. The latter is disposed within and extends diametrically across the hopper 500 and has its ends suitably secured to opposed side portions of said hopper. The reaction cup 395 is designed that it permits the elevation screw 383 to turn freely without, however, any vertical displacement with respect to the hopper 500. The elevation screw 363 functions in the manner of an eccentric crank arm to impart either circular or elliptical orbital movement to the discharge end of the delivery conveyor 58 depending upon the shape of the rim of the ladle being relined by the apparatus.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description of the composite articulated conveyor assembly 54 and reference to FIG. 1 of the drawings, that since the proximate or receiving end of the receiving conveyor 56 is mounted for swinging movement about the fixed common vertical axis of the pedestal and the base 102, while the slinger assembly 44 follows the closed arcuate path which is provided for it by the rim of the pattern shell 36 of the pattern 34 as previously described, the hinge assembly 308 by means of which the two conveyors 56 and 58 are hingedly connected together constitutes, in effect, a flexible elbow joint which yields to accommodate such arcuate travel of the slinger assembly 44 during filling of the annulus 32 with the refractory lining material. Because the distal or discharge end of the receiving conveyor 56 is at all times in register with the hopper 294 of the delivery conveyor 58, there will always be, regardless of the angular disposition of such elbow joint, a continuous stream of the refractory lining material flowing from the sand feeder 52 to the slinger assembly 44 and, consequently, into the annulus 32 between the side wall 22 of the ladle 10 and the side wall of the pattern shell 36.

Considering now the nature of the ramming unit 45 of the slinger assembly 44 and referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 11 to 16, inclusive, as previously stated, this ramming unit is adapted to be hoisted into a central position in centering relationship over the ladle 10 after the liner pattern 34 has been operatively installed and levelled in the ladle. The details of the liner pattern and its internal mechanism will be set forth in detail subsequently, but for an understanding of the ramming unit 45 and the manner in which it functions to ram wads of lining material into the annulus 32 which exists between the side walls of the pattern shell 36 and the ladle 10, it is sufficient to state that the ramming unit 45 seats upon a pair of horizontally disposed, coplanar, shelf-like deck plates 502 and 503 (see FIG. 25) which extend across the upper region of the liner pattern and are fixedly secured therein. It should be understood that the disclosure of FIG. 2 of the drawings is largely schematic in its representation and that, therefore, these deck plates 502 and 503 are the only internal functional components of the liner pattern which are illustrated, the remaining internal components being omitted in the interests of clarity, especially since they are disclosed in detail in FIGS. 17 to 22, inclusive.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 11, 12, 12a, 15, 17 and 18, the ramming unit 45 involves in its general organization an undercarriage 504 (see particularly FIGS. 17 and 18) which constitutes a base support for the ramming unit as a whole and is adapted to be removably mounted on the deck plates 502 and 503 of the liner pattern 34. This undercarriage 504 is in the form of a framework consisting of structural steel membe'rs and including a quadrilaterally arranged series of four radially diverging, horizontally disposed frame legs 506 (see FIG. 17) each of which is comprised of two parallel, spaced apart, structural channel members 508, the channel faces of which oppose each other. Said channel members are maintained in their parallel spaced relationship by means of inner end bars 510, outer ends bars 512, and intermediate crossbars 5114. The inner ends of the frame legs 506 are disposed in close proximity to one another so that the four legs, 

1. An apparatus adapted for use in lining the downwardly and inwardly slanting side wall of a relatively deep upright metallurgical vessel having a generally circular bottom wall and an open elliptical rim, said apparatus comprising a shell-like pattern removably mounted within said vessel in substantial y coaxial relationship and, in combination with said side wall, defining a material-receiving annulus, a ramming unit removably mounted on and supported by said pattern for ramming said annulus with wads of refractory lining material, said pattern constituting the sole support for said ramming unit, said ramming unit including a turntable mounted for rotation about the axis of the ladle and pattern, a slinger carriage eccentrically mounted on said turntable for orbital movement about said axis and freely movable in a radial direction with respect thereto throughout a limited range of radial movement, a slinger assembly mounted on said carriage and having a discharge chute in register with said annulus and adapted to project wads of lining material into the latter in order progressively to fill the same, cooperating guide means on said carriage and pattern constraining the carriage during its orbital movement to travel in an elliptical path conformable to contour of said rim and thus maintain the discharge chute of said slinger assembly in effective register with the annulus, means for rotating said turntable, and means for continuously supplying lining material to said slinger assembly during orbital movement of said carriage.
 2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 and wherein said guide means comprises an elliptical guide rail carried and supported by by said pattern and a rail follower effectively mounted on said slinger assembly.
 3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 and wherein said pattern is in the form of a hollow open-ended shell conformable in configuration to the inside surface of the ladle side wall to be lined and presenting an upper rim part, and said guide means embodies a steel ring removably seated on said rim part and coextensive therewith, and a pair of follower rollers effectively carried by said slinger assembly and between which said steel ring projects.
 4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 3 and wherein said rim part is in the form of an elliptical ring which is removably seated on and secured to the upper end of said pattern shell pilot lugs are secured to the inside face of said rim part in circumferentially spaced relationship, said pilot lugs projecting upwardly beyond such rim part and, collectively, serving to center the steel ring relative to the axis of the pattern and maintain the same seated on said rim part.
 5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 and wherein said including additionally means for varying the eccentricity of said limited range of movement within which the slinger carriage is freely movable, said means comprising a radially shiftable carriage support on said turntable and on which the slinger carriage is slidably mounted, and adjusting means whereby the radial position of said carriage support may be varied.
 6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 5 and wherein the turntable is provided with a centrally positioned guide bracket, the radially shiftable carriage support is in the form of a guide tube slidable in said bracket, and the adjusting means for varying the eccentricity of said limited range of carriage movement comprises a plurality of threaded adjustment rods which are effective between fixed regions on the turntable and guide tube respectively.
 7. An apparatus as set forth in claim 6 and wherein said shell-like pattern includes an outer shell wall of inverted frusto-conical configuration and of a slant angle conformable to the slant angle of said inwardly slanting side wall of the ladle, and the cooperating guide means on the carriage and pattern comprises an elliptical guide rail removably seated on the upper rim of said pattern shell wall, and a pair of follower rollers mounted on said slinger carriage and between which said guide rail projects.
 8. A ladle-lining installation comprising a relatively deep upright ladle having a generally circular bottom wall from which there projects upwardly an inverted frusto-conical side wall terminating in an open upper elliptical rim, a shell-like pattern having an outer inverted frusto-conical side wall terminating in an open upper elliptical rim conformable in contour to that of the rim of the ladle, said pattern being disposed within said ladle in coaxial relationship so that said side walls establish therebetween an annulus of substantially uniform radial thickness, a deck plate projecting across the upper end region of said pattern shell, a ramming unit removably mounted on said deck plate for ramming said annulus with wads of refractory lining material, said ramming unit comprising an undercarriage seated on said deck plate, a pedestal-like casing projecting upwardly from said undercarriage, a turntable mounted on said casing for rotation about the axis of the pattern, a guide sleeve centrally mounted on the turntable, a guide tube slidable in said sleeve and radially extensible therefrom, means for securing said guide tube in a selected extended position, a slinger carriage slidably mounted on the outer end region of said guide tube for free limited axial sliding movement thereon and for orbital movement about the axis of the pedestal-like casing and turntable, a slinger assembly mounted on said carriage and including a slinger proper having an impeller casing, a discharge chute in communication with said impeller casing and in register with said annulus for discharging wads of lining material thereinto, and an electric motor fixedly secured to said impeller casing for actuating the slinger proper, a pair of trunnions carried by said motor and rotatably supported on the carriage, said trunnions constituting a pivotal support for the slinger assembly as a whole whereby the slant angle of the discharge chute may be varied, means for securing said motor in a selected position of adjustment to conform the slant angle of the discharge chute to that of the pattern shell side wall, and means for rotating said turntable.
 9. A ladle-lining installation as set forth in claim 8 and wherein said guide tube serves at its outer end fixedly to support a saddle member having upstanding end flanges which serve to support therebetween a pair of parallel guide rods on opposite sides of said guide tube, and the slinger carriage is provided with a pair of guide sleeves which are freely slidable on said guide rods.
 10. A ladle-lining installation as set forth in claim 9 and wherein each guide rod is surrounded with a flexible protective bellows-like boot on each side of its associated guide sleeve, said boots being axially extensible and contractible in conformity with the sliding of said sleeves on said guide rods.
 11. A ladle-lining installation as set forth in claim 8 and wherein said means for rotating the turntable comprises an electric turntable motor effectively mounted on said undercarriage, a gear reduction device likewise effectively mounted on the undercarriage and connected to the motor in driven relationship, said gear reduction device having an output shaft, a pinion on said output shaft, and a ring gear secured to the turret in concentric relationship and meshing with said pinion.
 12. A ladle-lining installation as set forth in claim 11 and wherein said turntable motor is mounted on a shiftable motor platform which is slidable on said undercarriage and is drivingly connected to the gear reduction device by a variable speed spring-loaded split pulley device, and worm and sleeve meanS are provided for shifting the position of said motor platform in order to change the speed ratio of said variable speed device.
 13. A ladle-lining installation as set forth in claim 11 and including, additionally, a plurality of circumferentially spaced post-like tapered locating brackets mounted on said deck plate and projecting upwardly therefrom, said undercarriage being provided with a series of correspondingly located openings therein into which the locating brackets project, said brackets and openings serving to facilitate lowering of the ramming unit into a centered position on the pattern.
 14. A ladle-lining installation as set forth in claim 11 and wherein said undercarriage is in the form of a plurality of structural steel members secured together and forming a right angle cross which seats upon said deck plate and embodies two aligned radial arms which extend in the direction of the major axis of the elliptical rim of the pattern side wall, and two aligned radial arms which extend in the direction of the minor axis of said elliptical rim.
 15. A ladle-lining installation comprising an upright ladle having a generally circular bottom wall from which there projects upwardly an inverted frusto-conical side wall terminating in an open upper rim, a pattern removably mounted within said ladle in substantially coaxial relationship and, in combination with said side wall, defining an annulus for receiving refractory lining material, a turntable mounted on said pattern for rotation about the vertical axis of the pattern, a slinger assembly eccentrically carried by said turntable for orbital movement about said axis, having a discharge chute in register with the annulus, and adapted to project wads of lining material into said annulus, said slinger assembly further including a material-receiving hopper, a material feeder means remote from said ladle and having a continuous material discharge, and conveyor means for continuously conducting lining material from said feeder means to said receiving hopper, said conveyor means comprising a first material-receiving conveyor of the belt and pulley type and including a frame mounted at its proximate receiving end for swinging movement in a horizontal plane about the axis of said continuous material discharge, a second material-delivery conveyor of the belt and pulley type and including a frame hingedly connected at its proximate receiving end to the distal discharge end of the forst conveyor frame for swinging movement in a horizontal plane, the proximate receiving end of the second conveyor frame being in effective material-receiving communication with the distal discharge end of the first conveyor frame, said material-receiving hopper underlying the distal discharge end of the second conveyor frame in material-receiving relationship, and a rotary hinge connection effective between said hopper and said discharge end of the second conveyor frame to transmit the orbital movement of the slinger assembly to the discharge end of said latter conveyor.
 16. A ladle-lining installation as set forth in claim 15 and wherein said hinge connection comprises a pilot socket member mounted on said hopper and a cooperating pilot stem mounted on said second conveyor frame.
 17. A ladle-lining installation as set forth in claim 16 and wherein said hopper is provided with a funnel-like rim region, the socket member is in the form of a transversely extending strut which projects substantially diametrically across said rim region below the level of the rim proper and is provided with a socket in the central region thereof, and the pilot stem projects vertically downwardly from the distal end of the second conveyor frame and has its lower end extending into and seated within said socket.
 18. A ladle-lining installation as set forth in claim 17 and wherein means are provided for varying the effective length of the pilot stem to vary the height of the discharge end of the second conveyor frame with respect to said hopper.
 19. A ladle-Lining installation as set forth in claim 18 and wherein said means for varying the effective length of the pilot stem comprises a threaded portion which is formed on the pilot stem and projects through an opening in the distal end of the second conveyor frame, and a pair of clamping nuts on said threaded portion on opposite sides of the frame opening.
 20. A ladle-lining installation as set forth in claim 19 and wherein said opening in the distal end of the second conveyor frame threadedly receives said pilot stem therethrough, and the pilot stem is provided with a crank arm by means of which it may be manipulated.
 21. An apparatus adapted for use in lining the downwardly and inwardly slanting side wall of a relatively deep upright metallurgical vessel having a generally circular bottom wall provided with a stopper hole therein, and an open elliptical rim, said apparatus comprising a shell-like pattern removably mounted within said vessel in substantially coaxial relationship and, in combination with said side wall, defining an annulus for reception of refractory lining material, a ramming unit removably mounted on said pattern for ramming said annulus with wads of the refractory material, said ramming unit including a pedestal-like casing mounted on the central portion of the upper portion of the pattern, a turntable mounted on the casing and adapted for rotation about the axis of the ladle and pattern, a slinger carriage mounted on said turntable for orbital movement about said axis and freely movable in a radial direction with respect thereto, a slinger assembly mounted on said carriage and having a discharge chute in register with said annulus and adapted to project wads of lining material into the latter in order progressively to fill the same, cooperating guide means on said carriage and pattern constraining the carriage during orbital movement to travel in an elliptical path conformable to the contour of said rim and thus maintain said discharge chute in register with the annulus, an electric turntable motor mounted on said pattern and connected to the turntable in driving relationship, an electric slinger assembly motor fixedly mounted on the slinger assembly in driving relationship, a series of collector rings disposed within said casing and electrically connected to said slinger motor, and a lead-in power supply cable for said turntable and slinger motors having electrical connections extending to said collector rings and turntable motor respectively, said power supply cable extending from a source of electrical current and passing through said stopper hole. 